Embrace, disclose, and most importantly, reflect.

I can't necessarily say that I'm thrilled for the thirteen hour journey (let's be honest) but for many weeks now I've anticipated tomorrow's travels, bringing me ever closer to family, friends, and most importantly, home.

Before leaving Ireland two months ago, my friends and I were grappling with the idea of "home" and the complexities of its usage when describing where we grew up, where we go to school, and the town of Cork itself (a new Irish conception of home for us). I have heard from other friends who traveled abroad that this place of comfort is even harder to elucidate once one returns to where they've been raised. I'm not certain of how I will react when I'm back in America, but I can impart that before studying abroad, my perception of home was very narrowly defined. That expansive space from familiar Northern California to abstract Southern California was once a sizable stepping stone for me. Looking back now, it's seems hilarious that I was so nervous to make that small, cultural leap when in only seven short months I've managed to acclimate to polar opposite countries and call them home.

So my question is, how does one who has swam to the whole other side of the pond foresee their adaptation to a previous way of life and anticipate an even greater change in tide? Carrying right along with this applicable little metaphor, I thought that after such a life-changing study abroad experience, I would feel equipped and confident for anything in my future. Instead, I feel the trepidation of one slowly treading water, waiting for what lies ahead. It may just be my tendency to worry about the future and a compulsive need to have a plan B at all times (let's be honest, a plan C and D, as well) but I'm finally coming to terms with my relatively short amount of time left as a "college kid." In two short quarters, I'll need to have a couple internships under my belt, finish my upper division requirements, and already be looking for real-deal job (eek!) It's seems that time is playing tricks on me: acquiescing my requests to get home as soon and possible, and respectfully declining my pleas to slow down when I perceive the luxuries of being young.

All I can be thankful for is the people who have entered my life during this grand period of time and the places I have witnessed that so may people have yet to. Most importantly, I must commend my family for their financial and emotional support, and allowing me to experience this full depth of happiness, and even sadness and loneliness at times, which encompass any life-altering experience. If there's anything I've learned from traveling to Europe, besides how to navigate any convoluted Italian train station or how to locate any pub in a mile radius, it's the importance of fully embracing life and its nuances. The initial purpose of this blog was to embrace, disclose, and reflect, yet it has evolved into something even greater for me: a tangible preservation of the sites, friends, and adventures in which I will never forget.

Home sweet home, here I come!